ANITIMICROBIAL AND ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES OF BIOSYNTHESIZED SILVER NANOPARTICLES USING PEEL EXTRACTS OF CITRUS RETICULATA

Objective: The plant extracts of Citrus reticulata well known to possesses various biological properties. Hence, the present study  was designed to evaluate antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of biosynthesized silver nanoparticles from peel extract of Citrus reticulata. Methods: The multiple antibiotic-resistant bacterial isolates were isolated from clinical samples of local hospital in and around Bangalore. Antibacterial activity of the biosynthesized silver nanoparticles using peel extracts of Citrus reticulata fruit was carried out by disc diffusion method. DPPH free radical scavenging method of antioxidant assay was performed using spectrophotometric method. Results: In our study, the results of antibacterial activity reveled that silver nanoparticles synthesised by peel extract of Citrus reticulata fruit has effective antibacterial activities on the test isolates viz. Enterobacter cloacae , Escherichia coli , Klebsiella pneumonia , Proteus mirabilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa as evidenced by the diameter of their zone of inhibition, and antioxidant activity of biosynthesized silver nanoparticles revealed effective free radical scavenging by silver nanoparticles. In summary, biosynthesized silver nanoparticles can be used as effective antibacterial agents even against multidrug resistant pathogenic bacteria, and possess significant free radical scavenging properties. Conclusion: Our  preliminary findings encourages to use eco-friendly silver nanoparticles for various medical and electronic  applications.